


companion of the most haughty

by Lee_Mix



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 00:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5227709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lee_Mix/pseuds/Lee_Mix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe Bourgeois was an arrogant snob, but nobody could deny that, out of everyone, she was Adrien’s closest friend. Also known as the times Chloe slapped Adrien’s lonely fate in the face and she screamed until the world knew he would never be alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	companion of the most haughty

“Why are you on your own?”

Adrien lifted his head to the squeaky voice, sniffing and wiping his wet eyes. A girl with big eyes and a frown on her face looked at him weirdly, and he forced himself to look down again.

“They don’t wanna play with me.” He wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve.

She moved the ball from under her arm to the floor and put her hands on her hips. “Why not? You’re not ugly, so you can’t have scared them.”

That made him laugh a little, but it soon faded as he told her the answer. “They don’t wanna play with me because they think I’m weird. I… I’ve not got a mom anymore, and they make fun of me.”

He heard her huff, and she grabbed on one of the chains on the swing to yank him in closer. “Well, tell them next time not to bother speaking to you.” She smirked and leant in closer. “Because  _I’m_ your friend now, and you don’t need stupid people like that.”

For the first time since his mother had gone away, Adrien managed to give a proper smile, gap-toothed and all. His Papa would be really proud of him for smiling again, right?

 

* * *

 

“Dad,  _please!_ I just want us to spend one  _day_ together this week! Is that so much to ask for?”

_“Adrien, I have no time for this. I work to provide the best future for you, so I don’t have time to dabble into things that would waste my time. Please stop being so difficult.”_

“Diff–Dad, I’m not being difficult! I just want you to come  _home._ You… you  _know_ it’s the week that Mom–”

_“Don’t you dare, Adrien.”_

“Because you know I’m right, don’t you? She would hate what you’ve become, so addicted to your work that you have no time for your own son. Right? I’m right, aren’t I? Dad!”

_“We will finish this conversation later.”_

“Dad–!”

When the dial tone warmed up the bitter cold rejection from his father, Adrien slammed the phone back down, and curled up into a ball, biting his lip so hard it began to stain his front teeth red.

The similar thought processes were already starting. Had it been his fault? His father had always tried to give him the best money could buy. Many other families were worse of than he was, not even able to pay for their next meal without sacrificing something. He should be grateful one still bothered with him. But all he had asked was for  _one_ day to spend together on the anniversary of his mother’s… disappearance. The one day a year where everything felt cold, even in the days of the summer haze. It wasn’t so ungrateful for a child to ask for his father’s company, was it? 

 _Of course, it’s not your fault._ His thirteen-year-old mind snapped.  _Your Dad is just one of those stupid people Chloe said you didn’t need. You deserve better than that._

His head lifted up.

_Chloe._

Taking the phone, he dialled the familiar number and held it up to his ear. He didn’t even need to say anything.

_“I’ll be right there. Don’t cry until I’m there to help clean up your mess, okay?”_

 

* * *

 

“Chloe…”

The expression of hurt and shock that swept across that confident-stricken face had broken his heart, more than he had expected it to. She stood there in limbo, staring at him with her eyes wide and her gaze stuck on his blinkering form. From Chat Noir to her childhood friend Adrien, the two identities were probably warping into some strange entity in her head. 

Marinette was Ladybug. He had already spoken to her about that, had already exchanged honeyed words, had already held her hand and promised to walk with her however she wanted him to. But there was no time for those thoughts to walk across his mind when his friend stared at him with tears in her eyes.

“You’re Chat Noir.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“All this time and you…” She slowly sat down on the kerb of the pavement, her head held in her hand. “How couldn’t I see it? Why wasn’t I able to see that you were hiding something like this? You’re not exactly the subtlest person around, Adrien.”

“I surprised myself sometimes.” He perched down next to her and offered a token smile. “Maybe I learned it from you.”

“Please,” she scoffed. “There’s no point in subtlety. You play it loud and proud, or there’s no point to being yourself.” Her smile faded, and her brows creased. “Why didn’t you  _tell_ me?”

Adrien sighed. He  _knew_ this was coming, and no answer that he tried to construct in his head could justify it. “We… Ladybug and I, or Marinette… we agreed we would never tell  _anyone_ our identities, not even ourselves. I didn’t even know who she was until today. There’s something big that… we can’t tell you. I  _wish_ we could, Chlo, but trust me when I say that we need to keep people in the dark about this, or it could cause a mass panic.”

“My Dad is the  _mayor,_ Adrien! I could have helped you to… to do  _something.”_

“That’s why I couldn’t risk it.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Do you honestly think I want to lose you, Chloe?”

“You have your floozy,” she shook off his hand and an icy mask slid onto her face. “Why should you care?”

“A floozy?  _Chloe.”_ He gripped her shoulders and forced her to look back at him. “First of all, you really need to stop this attitude toward Marinette. She’s as much a hero as I am, and you’re so insecure about her talents you can’t appreciate the ones that you have already. Learn to respect those first, and you’ll be surprised how well the two of you could get along with each other.” 

Her eyes glossed over at the stinging remarks, but he wasn’t finished. “But putting all that aside, I think you know that I can’t return the sorts of feelings you have for me, but do you  _honestly_ think that means you’re not important to me? That I don’t  _care_ about you?”

Silence. All she did was stare up at him with those glossed-over, beady eyes, and he felt a pang of guilt.

Then… “I… I just don’t want you to do this  _alone._ ”

“I’m  _not_ alone, Chloe. I’ve  _never_ been alone, not even when my… my Mom, or my Dad, backed out of my life. I’ve had you, and Nino… now I’ve got Alya, and Marinette, and this whole situation. I've never felt this  _complete_ in my life than I do now, and you were that first step in helping me get this far.” 

“When did you turn into a motivational speaker, dork?” 

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, and caught her in a hug that said,  _you’re still important to me. I just can’t tell you everything anymore._

**Author's Note:**

> Adrien doesn’t just let anyone get close to him, and he’s friends with Chloe. So I want to explore their friendship a little more. Contains brief mentions of Ladynoir with some one-sided Chloe/Adrien. What can we call that ship? Also, my writing style is a little different this time–reflecting on them being kids and all.


End file.
